630. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Social Protection if discretion or an exceptional administrative sanction can be applied to the medical care scheme under the occupational injuries scheme to reimburse private medical expenses for an injured worker; if he is aware of a case (details supplied) where a worker has been waiting three years for a public appointment, forcing them to fund private consultant visits out-of-pocket due to a lack of public system availability; if the scheme will adapt to cover private treatment costs when the HSE fails to provide the equivalent public treatment within a reasonable timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45786/26]

The Medical Care Scheme is one of the benefits available under the Occupational Injuries Scheme. Under the Scheme, payment is made in respect of certain medical expenses which are considered to be reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of an occupational accident or development of a prescribed occupational disease. Expenses are covered to extent that the associated treatments are not covered under the Health Service Executive or under my Department's Treatment Benefit Scheme.

The Medical Care Scheme does not cover the cost of specialist services, as insured people are already entitled to these under the Health Acts and can avail of these treatments as an in-patient or out-patient in a public hospital.  Treatments which are available under the Health Acts in a public hospital, for example Physiotherapy, X-ray, MRI Scan, and Specialist Consultations are excluded from the Medical Care Scheme.

With specific reference to public health system waiting times, this is a matter for the Minister for Health and the Health Service Executive.

Any changes to the current system would need to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.